Instant

The process of biblical change, explained in God's Word, begins when you repent of your sin and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. God has given you everything you need to make the changes in your life that will please Him and will lead to His blessings. As you continue to obey God's Word, biblical change toward maturity will occur in your life until you see Jesus face to face.  John C. Broger

We live in a society and time where we want everything to be instant.  If we have to wait in line for anything we get impatient.  If you live in this day and age most likely on a daily basis there will be times when we want something instantly.

 

We are an impatient people.  This impatience colors everything we do.  So if we practice living in an instant society then we start applying that practice to everything we do.  This includes our spiritual life. 

When we are baptized we start a new life in Christ.  It is like we are on a cross country run without a finish line in sight.  Maturity in Christ is not instant.  Our baptism takes less than a minute but maturing in Christ takes a lifetime.

 

Quite a few years ago my sisters, mom and girlfriends went to climb Enchanted Rock outside of Fredericksburg Texas.  My girlfriend had climbed the rock before so she knew what to expect.  We would climb to a rise and look up and there was still more to climb.  She was ahead of us and would yell back “not much further”.  We would climb some more and then we would look up and she would say “we’re almost there, not much further”.  I never thought I would get to the top.  When we did reach the summit it was breathtaking and worth the climb.  You could see for miles and the sun was setting so the sky was a rainbow of colors.  It was totally silent at the top.  No traffic sounds or street lights. 

Our maturity in Christ is the same.  It is a gradual process that happens over time.  Many years ago when I rededicated my life to Christ it changed me.  I truly understood what it meant to give up my life for the One who gave up His for me.  The problem is it is not instant.  We will go through trials, heartache and pain.  There will be times when we will turn away from the One who saved us and other times when we will cling to Him with everything we have in us.  These are the building blocks of spiritual maturity.

 

One of the things I learned is that we must give up bad habits and replace them with good ones.  I read somewhere that it takes thirty days to create a habit.  If we are unkind we don’t all of a sudden wake up one day and treat everyone around us with kindness.  It has to be practiced day in and day out.  When it becomes a habit we do it without thinking about it.  Spiritual maturity is not instant.  It is necessary to practice the fruits of the spirit every day for our spiritual growth and for us to mature in Christ. 

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I am a sinner pursuing maturity in Christ.  I want to be more like Him but I often fail because I want it to be instant.  The one constant is that I know You are always there to catch me, set me back on my feet and nudge me forward.  I pray that you will guide my steps and slow me down long enough to see the value of patience in practicing the fruits of the spirit in my daily life.

Scripture: The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, ⁵ because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.

If you point these things out to the brothers and sisters, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished on the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe.

Command and teach these things. Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you.

Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.  1 Timothy 4:1-16